The Charge Toward Fuel Surcharges

The “fuel surcharge” idea introduced by the airlines last month has also caught fire with airport vans and bus-tour operators as petroleum prices escalate.

Last week SuperShuttle, the nation’s largest airport shuttle network, began adding on a surcharge of 50 cents per passenger, each way. Unlike some airlines, the Phoenix-based company, which operates at LAX and 22 other airports in 18 cities, is telling customers up front about the charge on the phone and posting it inside and outside vans, according to spokeswoman Margaret Nathan.

Nathan said the surcharge, which she believes to be the first in SuperShuttle’s history, is temporary, prompted by rapid increases in fuel prices since January. Last week the average price of gasoline nationally was $1.356 per gallon, up 3.1 cents in one week--the highest since 1991, the Energy Department reported. Californians paid $1.401 per gallon.

SuperShuttle’s major competitors, Prime Time Shuttle and Xpress Shuttle, both said they had no plans to impose a similar surcharge, although Xpress spokesman Michael Field said “we might look at our fuel costs” in light of SuperShuttle’s action.

Meanwhile, Houston-based Coach USA, which claims to be the nation’s largest motor coach and sightseeing conglomerate, is allowing local operators to impose fuel surcharges in some locations, said Bill Cole, vice president for marketing and sales. He said fuel hikes were “starting to kill us,” with the heftiest increases in Canada, the Northeast and California. Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc. raised its fares about 1.5% last month to cover fuel costs, a spokeswoman said.

Some good news has developed for airline passengers, however. After climbing on the bandwagon to impose a $20-per-round-trip fuel surcharge, some airlines, such as Northwest and US Airways, have rescinded it on some routes where they compete against lower-fare airlines such as Southwest.